Minimalism meets metal

Dalibor Chatrný's exhibition at Museum Kampa offers a long-deserved presentation of this neglected postwar Czech artist. Essentially a minimalist, Chatrný (born in 1925) most notably made experiments with magnets and assorted scraps of heavy metal, which led to sculptural objects and corresponding works on paper that are a marvel to behold.

The exhibition is divided into two main sections: minimalist paintings and canvas-based works with ropes, and magnetic drawings and objects.

At the entrance are eight white-painted canvases with white ropes sewn onto them. Light pencil lines run perpendicular to the ropes. This series, "Confrontation of a Vertical with a Horizontal A-D" (2003), corresponds to an untitled work from 1970 that has two grayish canvases connected by brown rope, resembling a huge guitar fretboard.

Another untitled piece from 1970 is made of two black canvases on the wall connected by white ropes that extend to the ground, where they sink into a black canvas. White ropes running from a matching white canvas stretch down and seep into a semi-white canvas. Taken as a pair, they are like two canvas-kites.

A series of small canvas boxes, all painted solid white except for one black, fill a corner. Labeled Untitled I-X (1970), these have string sewn onto them and then painted over, so that they simply look like textured lines across the canvas.

The real charm, however, lies in the next section.

Tall glass cases present more than a dozen of Chatrný's "magnetic boxes" - experimental sculptural objects made of levitating magnets, metal shavings and loose scraps of old, discarded metal ranging from thick, heavy rings to thin sheets. The rings are suspended in midair by magnets mounted overhead or on either side.

Then there are his magnetic drawings. These works, created between 1963 and 1992 and labeled "Drawings Created Using Iron Filings and a Magnet," were made by first scattering paint-dipped metal shavings onto paper. Then, using magnets held under the paper, Chatrný proceeded to "draw" with the shavings, leaving color traces behind. The result is like heavy-metal calligraphy.

The last section of the gallery has magnetic canvases, including Magnetic Target (1970), which is a mirror-like square metal plate turned on its side, with fuzzy circles and blotches made of filings. Magnetic Target IV (1970), another square metal plate on its side, has assorted metal rods and rings magnetically attached to it.

A black-and-white film projected on the wall was made by Chatrný and Alois Pinos in 1970. Grates, Static Music - Optical Acoustic Composition shows flashing images from a tunnel of light, as in an experimental scene by Hitchcock, then puts rows of tiny lights in motion, disorienting the viewer. The soundtrack is metallic, harsh and minimalist, quite avant-garde for its day.

The final glass cases, displaying Magnetic Boxes IV-VI (1971), are possibly the best works in the show. One is a column of magnets holding in place metal wires looped around it like fine hair; in another, magnetic rings hold a magnifying glass, which allows you to examine a pile of rusted scrap metal on a mirror. Another piece consists of a column of round magnets functioning like a vase, with a gray bush of metal scraps in full bloom. Overhead, a twisting metal rod balances a thimble that is overflowing with metal fuzz.

It is easy to overlook one object at the bottom of the final case: Levitating Magnets (1971). This one, which is like a magnetic vase - with identically sized circle-shaped magnets arranged in a glass cylinder so that the sum of their forces keeps them floating in space at varying distances - is a special, scientific treat for shoe-gazers.

With these works, most of which are almost 40 years old, Chatrný created artistic wonders in his time - and they remain so today. Made from found pieces and scraps from factories, they are like a seminal Czech version of Arte Povera. Guided by a minimalist aesthetic, Chatrný explores spatial relationships, equilibrium and immobility, and creates and controls motion. And doing it all on such an obviously shoestring budget gives his art a kind of Zen-like effect.

Tony Ozuna can be reached at
features@praguepost.com